"When you make a thing, a thing that is new, it is so complicated making it that it is bound to be ugly. But those that make it after you, they don’t have to worry about making it. And they can make it pretty, and so everybody can like it when others make it after you."

I remember seeing a corvair drop its engine right in the road, in front of the house I lived in as a kid in Akron, OH. Winter salt applications take their tole on vehicles here, should have seen the dumbfounded look on the occupants, guess its not uncommon for certain model's.

I remember seeing a corvair drop its engine right in the road, in front of the house I lived in as a kid in Akron, OH. Winter salt applications take their tole on vehicles here, should have seen the dumbfounded look on the occupants, guess its not uncommon for certain model's.

"When you make a thing, a thing that is new, it is so complicated making it that it is bound to be ugly. But those that make it after you, they don’t have to worry about making it. And they can make it pretty, and so everybody can like it when others make it after you."

Sorry erco, But I remember seeing another one on the side of the highway in Akron, the engine was about ten feet behind the car, they must have dragged the engine out of the road, that is why I thought it wasn't an uncommon event.

Yep. It was the oversteering that wrote the obit page for Ernie Kovacs. That and probably driving too fast for that particular intersection, and not wearing a seatbelt.

Mind you, I love old cars, but as vehicles for the family, they're not as safe as the mod'ren jalopy. Put one of my grandkids in the car, and it better have airbags and crumble zones. Even with the growing use of yakking/texting while driving, we're still seeing a net decrease in fatalities per miles driven since the bad old days of the 60s and 70s. Back then, with fewer cars, fewer drivers, and fewer miles, you could still count on about 50,000 traffic deaths per year. Last few years it's been in the 32K range. There's less than a quarter the fatalities per driven mile from 50 years ago. A lot of this is due to safer cars.

So, park that Corvair in the garage, drain the gas, and let it be the conversation piece it was meant to be!

"When you make a thing, a thing that is new, it is so complicated making it that it is bound to be ugly. But those that make it after you, they don’t have to worry about making it. And they can make it pretty, and so everybody can like it when others make it after you."

Jump to 4:15, where this 850-HP Mustang does the world's slowest burnout (is that front brakes only, Jim?) and generates about the same amount of smoke as a rear-engined, oil-burning Corvair does on a typical day.

"When you make a thing, a thing that is new, it is so complicated making it that it is bound to be ugly. But those that make it after you, they don’t have to worry about making it. And they can make it pretty, and so everybody can like it when others make it after you."

Jump to 4:15, where this 850-HP Mustang does the world's slowest burnout (is that front brakes only, Jim?)

Power Braking is when you use the brakes with an automatic car to build engine rpm before launching. Basically the car is in gear and you have a foot on the brake and the other on the gas. The brakes hold the car in place so you can launch at a higher rpm than idle. Mostly this is done in automatic RWD cars to do a burnout without the car moving much. Used to impress the guys and girls at the beach in a 1978 Cutlass.

An Oldsmobile man, the 442s were something to be reckoned with. My first car was a third hand 1965 Cutlass F85, 330ci V8 4 berral. No tire smoker, but a classic now. Still own a Bravada today, miss the days of simple HP. To bad Old's is history.

An Oldsmobile man, the 442s were something to be reckoned with. My first car was a third hand 1965 Cutlass F85, 330ci V8 4 berral. No tire smoker, but a classic now. Still own a Bravada today, miss the days of simple HP. To bad Old's is history.

Early model Corvairs have been vindicated! German engineering at its wurst. This 1951 Hoffman has one rear wheel drives and steers, like one of my tricycle bots in reverse. Fun video, just watch out for some language at the end. The guy has other notable cars on his channel.

"When you make a thing, a thing that is new, it is so complicated making it that it is bound to be ugly. But those that make it after you, they don’t have to worry about making it. And they can make it pretty, and so everybody can like it when others make it after you."

"When you make a thing, a thing that is new, it is so complicated making it that it is bound to be ugly. But those that make it after you, they don’t have to worry about making it. And they can make it pretty, and so everybody can like it when others make it after you."

I was in a friends corvair and as he pulled away from a stop sign my knees suddenly rose above my head, as the passenger seat fell through the floor.

LOL, reminds me of a Pinto I drove for a while. Always expected it to fall through the floor when I went over a good bump or the dipsy-doodle on the QEW/Gardiner Expressway. I could feel the floor flexing up and down a few inches while I had a death grip on the steering wheel waiting for the inevitable. Breathed a sigh of relief when I finally took it to the scrap yard.

In science there is no authority. There is only experiment.
Life is unpredictable. Eat dessert first.

"When you make a thing, a thing that is new, it is so complicated making it that it is bound to be ugly. But those that make it after you, they don’t have to worry about making it. And they can make it pretty, and so everybody can like it when others make it after you."

Erco, how familiar are you with San Gabriel/Rosemead? Almost lost in the deep mist of time, the first stick I ever drove was a corvair a few of us had rebuilt the engine on. I was the only one with a license at the time and looney enough to do it, but I was elected (by default I guess) to test drive it. This was early '75, and it was a blue and rust wonder. The wonder that 1, it actually ran and there was a good slope I remember on Walnut Grove Ave, turning onto Sab Gabriel Blvd of course catching the red light at the top, 2, did not get stopped for any of a dozen valid reasons and 3, if our antics were known, they were not acted upon. Forgot all about this one!

An astute observation about that telescopic steering column, Mike! They became standard on my 1967. I did not know they were an option in 1965.

"When you make a thing, a thing that is new, it is so complicated making it that it is bound to be ugly. But those that make it after you, they don’t have to worry about making it. And they can make it pretty, and so everybody can like it when others make it after you."

Erco will not get hurt in a crash because the Corvair's doors will spring open on impact and he'll be thrown to safety.

Seriously, this appears to be a nice showcar, and would be the envy of any classic car buff. Price seems right, though the fact that it's sat for 30 years is a bit troublesome (and probably why they only want $6.5K). Every seal, every bit of rubber, anything that degrades in such manner will have to be inspected, and likely replaced. I'd also worry that the oil is just one hunk of dried varnish.

OTOH, maybe if it doesn't run our Erco will be okay. Nadar said unsafe at any speed, but he said nothing about 0 MPH.

I'm starting to wonder if it's a late April fool's gag. No response from seller yet, price seems too good. Paint looks too shiny for something sitting around for 30 years.

OTOH, if it's real, shut up and take my money!

"When you make a thing, a thing that is new, it is so complicated making it that it is bound to be ugly. But those that make it after you, they don’t have to worry about making it. And they can make it pretty, and so everybody can like it when others make it after you."